The Family Clock
by the edge of night
Summary: A series of 100-word drabbles. Centred around the Weasley's clock.
1. Time Stands Still

Molly Weasley sat at her kitchen table, listening to Celestina Warbeck croon love songs on the radio. The cool fall air rustled through the open window. The house was silent. No shouting, no explosions, and no cheerful laughter. And yet, Molly was not in peace.

Cradling a cup of tea in her hands, she glanced up every so often at the clock. Molly sighed in relief. Everyone was where they were supposed to be. Three hands pointed to 'work', while the other five pointed to 'school'.

Molly's eyes flicked back up to the clock. The shiny golden hands remained still.


	2. Family

The Christmas holidays had everyone at the Burrow in high spirits, everyone except for Harry, that is.

Harry looked at the hands of the clock. They all pointed towards one word, 'home'. Harry watched as the Weasley's laughed and talked together, sharing Christmas crackers and giggling over the jokes and toys inside. He watched wistfully as Molly kissed her children on the head as she gave each of them gifts, and he saw the playful banter of the Weasley children as they opened their gifts.

Harry wanted to have a hand of his own on that clock. More than anything.


	3. Ninth

Arthur grinned excitedly as Molly peeled the light gold paper off the box. She gently pulled the tab at the corner of the box, and its sides fell away to reveal a large clock. It was by no means a regular clock.

"Why are there nine hands on it love?" Molly asked, puzzled.

"There is a hand for each of us, so you know where we are all of the time." Arthur replied proudly. "And one for little Arthur Junior here."

Molly rubbed her swollen belly lovingly, and felt a soft kick. She prayed this one would be a girl.


	4. Brother Dear

No one knew what had happened to the sixth hand on the clock. After the Battle of Hogwarts, it had suddenly disappeared. Molly was heartbroken by this subtle reminder that her son was dead.

George sat alone in his and Fred's room. The dark and silent room was as miserable as George.

He clutched the shiny gold hand that was Fred's in his hands, and stared at it with blank eyes. Mum wouldn't need it anymore anyways; he was dead. He tucked it quietly behind his pillow, and lay down, eyes searching through the dark for the familiar outline of Fred.


	5. Tomorrow Morning

Tomorrow morning Ginny was going to see Harry Potter. Tomorrow morning she would throw her arms around him and finally declare her undying love for him.

Fred, George and Ron had left to go get Harry from his nasty aunt and uncles' house. Ginny sat impatiently in front of the family clock. The three hands that pointed to 'travelling' groaned as they slowly switched to 'home'. Ginny ran to the window to watch Harry as he got out of her father's Ford Anglia.

"Hi Ginny." Harry said warmly to her. Ginny opened her mouth and let out an enormous squeak- she had realized she was still in her pyjamas.

**A/N: I cheated. This one's a bit over. But please review if you do like it! It's an author's biggest compliment to hear what the readers think. **


	6. Eldest

**A/N: Just so there's no confusion, these drabbles don't intertwine with each other. This chapter is a completely separate world/time from the others.**

Bill could remember the first time he saw the family clock. He could remember the time his mother and father announced they would be adding another hand to it. He could remember the next five hands that followed Charlie's.

He also remembered when Fred died. Bill dreaded returning to the Burrow, scared of what the Fred's hand would do. There was no space on the clock reading 'dead'. It was almost a relief to find it simply gone.


	7. Lost

The hand on the clock that belonged to him was poised diligently over the word 'work'. It slowly shifted, first from 'travelling', and then resting among other family members' on the word 'home'. Percy Weasley packed his belongings into a trunk, purging the room of any trace of him. He gazed back at the clock, knowing that his hand would never move to that spot again. The back door clicked softly shut behind him as he turned his back on his family. Percy Weasley's hand lay finally at 'lost'.


End file.
